2011 Posters

Islamic Gravestones of Southeast Coast of India

Dr. V. Selvakumar, Dr. S.Rajavelu and Mr.A. Raja

The west and east coasts of India and Sri Lanka witnessed the settlement of Islamic populations from the Medieval period. Recent explorations as part of the Indian National Science Academy’s research project revealed three gravestone inscriptions at Vattanam, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. Two of the inscriptions date to the 16th century and one, to the late 15th century CE. These inscriptions mention the death of individuals from Marakkayar Muslims, who were maritime traders/navigators. This poster presents a brief account of the Islamic gravestones, the Marakkayar community and the Muslim settlements of the east coast of India.

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Development of the JPAC Underwater Geographic Information System (UGIS)

Dr Stefan Claesson

The mission of the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is “to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation’s past conflicts.” To support this mission objective, JPAC is developing an Underwater Geographic Information System (UGIS) that will be used to inventory, manage and analyze a complex historical record, integrate numerous disparate databases, and analyze marine remote sensing and environmental data sets related to underwater military losses.

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Trust, Respect and Reciprocity: The importance of international collaboration in archaeology and heritage management

Britt Burton

Approaches to archaeological research and heritage management have changed over recent decades. This has included an increase in international collaboration between professionals and academics from Western and developing countries. The three key ingredients needed for successful a collaborative relationship are trust, respect and the promise of reciprocity. This poster explores these themes with case studies from the ongoing Bach Dang Battlefield Research Project in Northern Vietnam and the 2009 collaborative maritime field school run by the Flinders University Department of Archaeology in South Australia.

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The 100th Birthday of Titanic and Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Tatsuya Nakada

Next Year is centennial since Titanic sunk. She was found in 1985, USA enacted the RMS Titanic Maritime Memorial Act in 1986. The international agreement for Titanic was made among UK, France and Canada in 2000. UNESCO 2001 Convention entered into force in 2010. According to the Convention, Titanic will be an UCH next year. The Agreement is likely to enter into force in the near future. Asian countries including Japan needs to enact new laws in response to coming new trend.

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Take the Plunge – Protect Australia’s Heritage

Cassandra Morris and Danielle Wilkinson

‘Take the Plunge – Protect Australia’s Heritage’ is an initiative to raise awareness and support for the Australian government’s ratification of the UNESCO 2001 Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. Created by a group of Maritime Archaeology students of Flinders University, this initiative began with a Facebook page that explained why the Australian government should ratify the Convention. Letters were written to prominent governmental members, which have been distributed and uploaded onto the Facebook page so that professional maritime archaeologists and the public may add their own support for ratification.

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An overview of shipwreck explorations in Goa waters

Dr Sila Tripati

Information on more than 200 shipwrecks of post 16th century AD has been collected in Indian waters. Three shipwrecks were explored in Goa waters among them The Sunchi Reef and St George’s Reef were wooden hulled sailing ships whereas Amee Shoals was a steel hulled steam engine shipwreck. Sunchi Reef exploration is evidence of Indo-Portuguese trade and commerce in the 17th century. St George’s Reef shipwreck belongs to the Basel Mission Tile works 1865. The steam engine shipwreck of Amee shoals could be dated 1880s or later.

In 2010 a project to record the Indigenous maritime cultural landscape and seascape of Saipan was developed. The project took a community archaeology approach in that it was perceived of and guided by community members. In April 2011, Flinders University archaeologists worked with local researchers to identify sites of significance. Collaboratively, the sites were located, photographed, mapped, and their importance to the community recorded. A significant outcome of this project is that researchers were able to establish continuity of how the past maritime cultural landscape and seascape still manifests itself today in fishing practices, rituals and issues surrounding sea tenure.

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Archaeology of Manila Galleons

Professor Roberto Junco

Manila Galleons are the stuff of legend. Active for 250 years they were the vehicle for people, products and ideas between Asia and the Spanish World. Among the biggest ships of their time, they were built to endure one of the most difficult ocean crossings – the crossing of the Pacific Ocean. The Archaeology of Manila Galleons has the potential to understand diverse aspects of the exchange and interaction that took place between Asia and the Spanish Empire, as well as to shed light on the ships themselves, which were built in the Philippines to Spanish shipwright traditions and remain a mystery in many ways.

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They Have Stories to Tell

Montakarn Suvanatap

A shipwreck is like a book from the past, waiting to be opened and interpreted for the enjoyment of all humanity. Each object has an important story to tell, which can only be read if its location relative to other objects in the wreck is scientifically analyzed. Indiscriminate excavation displaces objects, preventing us to read the secrets each item wish to divulge. So, let us preserve them in situ until we have adequate resources to discover their secrets.

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Keep It Safe

Montakarn Suvanatap

Underwater cultural heritage can only be safeguarded if we acknowledge it to be our shared heritage, not a treasure to be looted and sold. The 2001 Convention offers an opportunity for countries to cooperate in protecting underwater cultural heritage wherever it is located in the open seas. Without international cooperation, our common legacy continues to be at risk.

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Let Us Not Desecrate It

Montakarn Suvanatap

Many ships were sunk with loss of lives. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions destroyed and submerged coastal settlements and entire cities, together with their inhabitants. Underwater archaeological sites are therefore significant, not only for their archaeological and historical contexts, but also for the respect and veneration that are due them as resting place of those who perished and who may be our ancestors.

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The Social Life of Boats in the Khmer Empire

Veronica Walker Vadillo

The poster will present different images from the temples of Angkor where boats are depicted, and will explain the cultural/social uses of boats during the Angkor period. Although Angkor has been largely studied, the role of boats in Khmer society has not been assessed thoroughly. The poster will make a brief analysis of the scenes depicted in the bas-relieves of the temples and explore the role of boats in Khmer social life.

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Crossing Cultures

P J Cherian, K P Shajan, V Selvakumar, M Nambirajan & K Rajan

For the first time in the history of South West Coast of India, a variety of archaeological evidence for the long distance maritime exchanges was unearthed at Pattanam (N. Lat. 10° 09.434’; E Long 76° 12.587’). The ca 4 m thick cultural deposit of Pattanam may be defined into five cultural periods spanning three millennia since 1000 BCE. Four seasons of excavations by KCHR, in about 650 sq. m dug up area, produced 39,846 antiquities and about three million (29,83178) pottery sherds. The excavations also revealed remains of brick architecture including warehouse, wharf/jetty and residential/industrial structures, wooden canoe and a plethora of biological remains. The poster illustrates the major finds and cross-cultural connections suggesting Pattanam could be part of the legendary port of Muziris.

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Battle of Saipan – WWII Maritime Heritage Trail Posters

Jennifer F. McKinnon and Toni L. Carrell

These four posters represent a portion of the public interpretation developed in conjunction with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Historic Preservation Office for the Battle of Saipan underwater heritage trail. A set of nine underwater guides accompany the posters to provide a historical overview of the battle and associated underwater heritage, a preservation message, and directions for accessing the sites. These posters and guides can be used by divers, local schools, and other heritage agencies to educate the public about the importance of the sites and their preservation into the future. They were designed to be inclusive of multiple stakeholders and are printed in English and Japanese.